Broken Ice
by kandaXlavi
Summary: Basically its a KandaxLavi story. Here they're realising their feelings for each other on a mission that had a somewhat rough start. Bookman's missing somewhere so what are they going to do without adult supervision? hehez hope u enjoy & review it XD
1. Chapter 1

Broken Ice (Chapter 1)

"Heh…What the heck. Here I am stuck in a cold desert with no means of food or shelter. Stuck with an ice princess with his own cold demeanor and no trace of that old panda," Lavi muttered under his breath as wisps of cold vapor misted in front of him and trailed off into the surrounding air.

He lifted his headband a little that had slipped down over his left eye due to a slippery sheet of ice, which had formed beneath it. He needed vision at least from his left eye, the right one being covered by a black eye-patch. The reason it was covered was…

"Oi, hurry up. We're never gonna cross this plain with you dreaming along in your own world," Kanda barked, interrupting Lavi's train of thought. Momentarily startled, he quickly gathered his wits about him and managed to speed up a little to catch up with Kanda…..only to knock into a tree located inconveniently at a blind spot on his right eye's radar view.

"Gyaaahhh. Oww oww owwwwww. Dammit. My nose! My nose! Stupid tree. What the hell are you doing in my way," he cried, promptly kicking it with his boot. The resulting sound of his kick echoed through the snowy surroundings and fell upon Kanda's sharp ears.

"Che," he muttered, annoyed. _**Why must I put up with this redhead anyway?**_ He trudged on. Lavi emerged and fell in step with him, rubbing his nose and hands together to ease his feelings of pain and cold. He took in his surroundings. Bare, snow-frosted trees. Mounds of snow at his feet, which seemed to stretch on towards the horizon. No sign of life at all. He made a quick glance at his companion. Sighing, he made an attempt to break the ice between them. If he didn't talk, his lips might just freeze.

"Hey, Yuu-chan…My nose is pretty sore. Help me rub it will ya? My hands are frozen," Lavi then flashed him his melt-babe's-heart smile. Kanda stopped in his tracks abruptly. His hand edged towards the hilt of Mugen. Lavi gave a start and scanned the area. Kanda's action may be a warning of akuma in the area. He saw nothing. He turned to Kanda.

"Relax, Yuu--- **HIKKK**!!!" he began, then halted with a strangled gasp as his eyes clapped upon the sharp, shining edge of the samurai's anti-akuma weapon.

"Say that again and I'll make sure the Bookman line ends with you," he hissed, eyes darkening with every word.

"Hehe… Ok Ok. Just trying to cheer up eh? My brain's freezing up I can't think well," Lavi stuttered before pouting. Kanda's facial muscles started to relax and he slid his Mugen back into its sheath.

_**Cute,**_ he thought…

_**Wait, I'm not supposed to think that**_ he chided himself inwardly.

"Che," was all he could manage as he continued walking. Their footfalls were muffled as they sank into the soft, white snow. _**That old man better turn up soon. **_

"Kanda! Look out!!!" Lavi yelled as a huge snowball rolled towards them, crushing the bare trees in its way into sticks. The sound it made was deafening, like peals of thunder. Kanda, who was involved in a mental struggle just now, just stared at it in shock. _**This isn't akuma…**_ All of a sudden, two hands made contact with the left side of his body, shoving him out of harm's way. He tumbled into the snow, followed by another body landing on top of him. The huge snowball rolled away, oblivious to the fact that it's two intended human targets had leapt to safety.

The two 18-year-old exorcists didn't budge from their spot. Kanda was propped up on the snow-covered ground by his elbows, Lavi lying on him, his right cheek inches from the bandages on his chest. Both stared at the ball, which exploded into pellets of snow when it rammed into a cliff they had long left behind. Kanda's fast, ragged gasps had converted to slow, rhythmic breathing. Lavi could feel the soft lub-dup of Kanda's heartbeat in his chest.

_**I want to stay. My head resting here. Not budging. Just resting. Not a care in the world or some mad killer snowball**_ He proceeded to do just that, then he felt his hair being ruffled.

"Oi. Get the hell off me before I slice your head off," Kanda's voice slid into Lavi's ears. _**So much for resting**_ Kanda felt awkward. He sort of wanted Lavi to stay that way. However, his pride drove him to utter those words.

Lavi sat up, dazed.

_**What was that feeling burning in my heart just then?**_

Dumbfounded, he rubbed his eyes and stood up. Oddly, both had forgotten who had sent the snowball after them. Silence hung over them as they mulled over their own thoughts.

Then, Lavi recalled the reason he had been on Kanda's chest the first place.

"Hey, Yuu-chan. About that snowball…" he began. Somehow, Kanda didn't even start attacking him…


	2. Chapter 2

** Broken ice (chapter 2)**

_**So cold…so cold…When is it ever going to end…**_Lavi gathered hiscoat tighter around his body. _**Why is it so fucking cold…?**_A never-ending plain of pure, driven snow. An ethereal realm of frozen water…and numb skin…Then, he saw it. A gaping, black maw full of the promise of shelter from the snowstorm and cold. Too excited to speak, he reached out and tapped Kanda's shoulder. Kanda turned and saw Lavi practically jumping up and down with excitement. He was pointing to a distant spot on the left.

"Slow down will you…you're gonna wet yourself, baka," Kanda told him, aware of the fact that Lavi's motions were sliding his shirt up and down thus revealing his collarbone. He tried to suppress a blush. _**Why should I? So what if he sees it?**_

"Cave! Cave! We'll rest there! Hurry!" Lavi had to shout at the top of his voice to make himself heard over the noise of the snowstorm.

"The storm's picking up! May be a blizzard before you know it!"

_**Point taken.**_They headed in that direction and finally entered the small, but utterly appreciated, cave. Its walls were rocky, with sheets of ice glistening at its surface.

Lavi quickly took out their supplies: a blanket, some food and water and a metal bar. Kanda didn't know how the hell a magnet could get them out of their predicament.

Grinning, Lavi took a small knife and started scraping the metal, allowing its fillings to fall onto the twigs he had collected on the way. He rubbed them together, blew a little here and there and **voila!**_ a_ fire burned merrily, its orange-red glow reflected off the smooth rock walls.

_**Bookman knowledge.**_

Kanda ate a portion of the food and settled down to sleep.

His eyes fluttered open and grew wider and wider when he saw Lavi lying down beside him. What's more, he was _**grinning from ear to ear. **_

"Hehe. There's only one blanket. Old panda's got the other. Can't have me freezing my ass off eh? We can share body heat," Lavi explained. Kanda felt a jolt in his heart. _**What the fuck???**_His hand reached instinctively to his back, only to realize that he'd left Mugen and his coat together with their supplies. _**Damn.**_He decided to let it go, as he watched Lavi's chest rising and falling rhythmically at his side. So peaceful. That's what he always got in the Order. Just minding his own business, receiving furtive glances from young finders, the occasional _**Kanda-dono**_from the older ones and the ominous, sickly glow from the lotus in the hourglass currently residing in his bedroom. _**Body heat, eh?**_ Guess he could live with that at the moment. He shut his eyelids once more.


	3. Chapter 3

** Broken Ice (Chapter 3)**

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Lavi blurted out. He squinted in the darkness, trying to define something through the fast-falling snowflakes. He scrambled out of the cave and cupped his hands over his eyes, turning his head left and right to make out the thing he had seen.

He had heard something running outside in his sleep and had quickly awakened, only to see Kanda's face.

He was such a beauty, considering his angsty and rude nature. Lavi quickly tore his eyes away so as not to get distracted by that pale, sweet countenance.

Crestfallen, he turned back, wanting to head back into the cave. When that thing was running outside, the snowfall seemed to accelerate, then slow down as it went further on. _**Odd.**_

"What was it? Tell me what you saw," Kanda's frame suddenly loomed out of nowhere, framing the doorway. Lavi gaped in astonishment. _**Must have heard my yells. **_

"It---err…well…it's gone and umm I must have imag---" 

Then, laughter pierced through the air. Akuma laughter.

"No, you didn't imagine it," Kanda mumbled. They were close to finding their attacker. _**Then, I'm gonna run it through with Mugen**_

He grabbed Lavi's hand and dragged him out of the cave.

Lavi broke out of his stupor at the touch. Kanda's grasp was firm, but the flesh was soft. Lavi felt a kind of electric tingle course through his body coming from the point where their skin made contact.

Kanda had started running. He ran towards the direction he had heard the akuma laughter. Then, he saw it. Its grotesque form was sliding across a great lake. In its path, ice sheets were forming on the water's surface. _**So you're the ice queen.**_ He let go of Lavi's hand and unsheathed Mugen.

_**Aw crap. **__**He let go. It was so……nice…… while it lasted. **_

"Oh my god. What the fuck am I thinking?"

Kanda had activated his innocence. "Kaichu Ichigen!!!" he yelled, sending forth hell's insects from the sword's body. He wanted them to pierce holes into the akuma. However, it deftly dodged them all. _**Damn. You're asking for it**_. He sped up, almost reaching the akuma, when---

"Oudzuchi Koudzuchi! Man, Man, Man!" Lavi's little anti-akuma weapon had swelled to a huge hammer hundreds of times its usual size. This was his chance to prove his worth to Kanda. He proceeded to form his fire seal.

"Lavi NO!!!!! You'll melt the---" Kanda started. Lavi's attacks never hurt natural things, only akuma and akuma-formed objects. The ice was made by the akuma and only Kanda had seen that first. If it melted, they'd---

"Gouka kaijin!! Hiban!!!" Lavi shouted as he brought his hammer crashing down onto the ice. A huge fire dragon materialized and meandered towards the Level 2 akuma. The dragon swallowed it whole and disappeared into thin air. Lavi balanced the hammer on his shoulder and flashed a grin at Kanda, then watched in mute horror as Kanda slipped into the freezing cold water through a hole caused by melted ice.

"KANDA!!!!!!!!!!!"


	4. Chapter 4

** Broken Ice (Chapter 4)**

** SPLASH!!!!!! **

Plumes of water spouted from the area where Lavi's body made contact with. He took a dive into the freezing waters with only one intention in mind. Saving Kanda. _**I hope he doesn't get pissed when I save him. He's got his pride**__**… a**__**nd ego.**_ He propelled himself forwards, his muscles and skin screaming due to the biting cold of the water.

_**Bookman shouldn't get involved in the lives of others**_

He craned his neck, hoping against hope in spotting the Japanese exorcist's dark-blue hair or any other part of his body.

_**Bookman should just stay in the sidelines. Everyone else is just ink on paper**_

_**Shut up. Stupid panda.**_ Lavi squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to squeeze out Bookman's advice ringing in his ears everytime he showed a hint of feeling for them.

Then, he saw Kanda's unconscious body slowly sinking. He grabbed onto his waist and dragged him to the surface, straining his muscles which had nearly frozen.

_**Please don't let me be too late. Please, please don't.**_

With every single scrap of energy he had left, he heaved Kanda onto the surface. All around, the ice had started melting. The akuma's death had seen to that. _**Salvation, Allen would say. **_Lavi managed a small smile as the image of Allen's cute face, red scar on left eye and premature white hair burst into his mind.

Then, he looked down onto Kanda. His eyes were shut tight. He was barely breathing. Lavi felt sorrowful. _**What have I done?**_

He pumped Kanda's chest repeatedly with both his palms but Kanda remained as still as ever. He placed his head on Kanda's chest to hear his heartbeat. Something he had wanted to do the day before. However, the pleasure of doing so had been overcome by his fear. _**Guess I'll just have to wing it.**_

He used his right hand to separate Kanda's frozen lips. Then, he brought his own down onto it. The moment they made contact, Lavi felt a sensation he'd never felt before. A sweet feeling of warmth and pleasure made its way from the connected tongues. It filled his heart with happiness and he didn't feel so cold anymore. _**Wait, I'm supposed to breathe life into him, not revel in this situation. **_He performed the CPR several times till Kanda came to.

Kanda started sputtering as he tried to sit up straight. He coughed and freezing cold water made its way out. Dazed, he looked around. _**What happened?**_

"Kanda!! You're alive, thank god," Lavi cried as he linked his arms around Kanda's neck. Both of them were drenched to the bone and were nearly ice sculptures. Kanda was shocked. Lavi actually had the nerve to lean on _his_ back and have his arms around _his_ neck.

"Don't get pissed ok just coz I saved you. I couldn't think of anything else and…"

The rest of his words didn't register in Kanda's mind. Lavi saved him. He had been frozen shit and he still risked his life to pull him out of the water.

"Lavi, I---Lavi? Lavi???" Kanda gasped in alarm. Lavi was sliding down his back. Then, he landed on Kanda's lap, oblivious to his surroundings. Kanda's eyes widened. Exhaustion had finally claimed Lavi's consciousness.


	5. Chapter 5

**Broken Ice (Chapter 5)**

"Kuso…Of all the times he could pass out on me…of all the times he was so irritating… Che. He blacks out at the wrong times…" Kanda mused as he rubbed his shoulders, which were strained due to Lavi's weight.

He'd been less energetic then, since he'd eaten only a little, slept, woken up and didn't eat at all before dispensing his energy on chasing that Level 2. Then, he'd used all his remaining strength to heave the then unconscious Lavi back to the cave, nearly collapsing on him when they reached the entrance.

Their wet exorcist coats were hung over a makeshift stick rack and placed near the fire to dry. He'd used Lavi's technique of using that weird, shiny metal bar. _**Funny, I've never done anything connected to him before. We're polar opposites. **_He leaned on the cave wall and watched the steam rising from their apparel for a while, then turned his head to the right to have a view of the outside world.

With the akuma gone, the blizzards had slowed down and finally stopped and the ice had started melting. The bare trees had a few leaves growing out of their thin branches and the ground glistened under the soft, dappled sunrays that filtered through the clouds in the sky.

Then, he turned his attention to the sleeping redheaded young man next to him. All of a sudden, Kanda wanted to grope around in Lavi's pockets to find that marker of his and draw his face with it. Caught unawares…sweet revenge for braiding his hair. _**Wait…what the heck? **_Kanda slapped his forehead._** What a thought?!? I don't friggin care.**_

A few wisps of hair flopped up and down gently on his headband aided by his breathing. That headband was so green, just like those emerald coloured irises that drew him in so deep…hidden beneath two perfect eyelids at that moment. _**Damn, not this again. What's with me?**_ Alarmed, he started focusing instead on their mission.

They had to continue their journey to find Bookman, Lavi's old mentor with black shades around his eyes. He had that frail, old, wrinkled (and tiny) man in his mind's eye. Having innocence with him, he was at risk of being attacked by akuma. _**Or worse…**_

He thought back to the time he and Marie had found Daisya's body hanging upside down at the Town Square, supposedly killed by a Noah. How long could that old man withstand sadistic and immortal humans with a high threshold for pain?

"S---s---s"

Kanda broke out of his reverie when he heard an indistinct murmur from Lavi.

"Oi, what is it? Some water? Something's wrong? Somemore blankets? There's only one and you know that. Save you? I already did," Kanda threw a few suggestions starting with 'S' at the half-awake exorcist, trying to figure out what he was saying. However, Lavi kept repeating the same letter and an exasperated Kanda had to bend over him and shake him by the shoulders. He didn't even budge.

"S---s---Strike!!!"

Kanda had to pause for a few moments totake that in. For the past 5 minutes, he'd been trying to rouse him and…

"You'd been dreaming about girls all along, baka usagi. Che. What a waste of effort"

"Waste of effort, eh… Were you…jealousss?"

Kanda's pupils dilated and he felt his face grow hot. Did Lavi just say he was…jealous??? Could he have known that there was, in fact, a twinge of that very feeling pulling at his heartstrings for reasons unfathomable? He shook his head. _**Nah, impossible. I'm hallucinating. Guess I'm too sleepy.**_

His eyes then slid down to Lavi's face. He had a dreamy, sleazy look on it and his lips were curled into a smile. A sexy smile. _**Look's like I didn't imagine those words… **_

Kanda forced down a gulp and almost immediately gasped when he felt two hands slowly make their way up his back, bandages and all. The soft flesh made his back crawl as feelings of apprehension and pleasure washed over him. Ironically, his mouth had gone dry.

"O-oi, L-Lavi. Wh-what are you d-doing? Are you ok?"

They finally rested on the back of his neck and Lavi slowly pulled his head down, closer and closer to his own. Kanda's long, navy sidebangs fell onto Lavi's shoulders, but he didn't shrug them off. His lips parted a little and Kanda was just thundershocked. A blush slowly worked its way toward his cheeks. _**Come here… Come closer, Yuu-Chan… Your fine skin and blue eyes have tempted me thus far…you've dragged me down into their depths so long…too long for me to just let you go…**_

"Kanda…" 


	6. Chapter 6

Broken Ice (Chapter 6)

Akuma attacks. Three Level Ones, Four Level Twos. Must make haste, innocence is crucial-both to the exorcist and Earl's sides. The only difference is the innocence being treasured-or destroyed.

He paused there. Mind teeming with possible situations Kanda and Lavi had gotten themselves into, he dipped his quill back into the pot of ink, closed the book he recorded 'unrecorded' history into, and turned his face skywards. Azure blue. Clouds drifting along, not a care in the world. Sunbeams---It almost hurt his eyes to look. Was it cataracts? Were his visionary muscles beginning to fail? _**How long has it been? 60 years? 70?**_ Then, his eyes would just be black, beady opals that saw nothing.

_**Nothing of this world, nothing I can perceive to record.**_

Then, when his soul had finally left his body…

_**That happy-go-lucky idiot would take over my place. How can he carry the job properly when he can't even take it into his head to find me?**_

"Stay there, old man. I can sense innocence there with you. Oooh, master Earl and Noah would be happy if I brought that back…"

Bookman snorted. _**I'll have to add another; thought there'd be no more.**_

"Needles of Spells, North Crime" 

With those few words, thousands of needles impaled his intended target and all along he was still positioned on the marble parapet. He gathered his possessions and slid down, starting his relaxed amble as the akuma exploded behind him, leaving traces of its agonized screams that had rent the silent night air moments ago. _**Another one into the book then.**_

"What the fuck am I doing?"

"Heh, you just answered that yourself"

Lavi was throwing him a playful smile, trying to reassure his restless lover. However, he didn't really know why -and how- these feelings and actions came along for him. Guess its Kanda. His awesome contradictory profile must have been so appealing in the first place. Then, the rescue…and the kiss.

_**The kiss-that's it…that turned me on at first. Kanda doesn't know that power of his. The power to bring me to my knees conscious or unconscious, sleeping or awake, swearing or even threatening to decapitate me.**_

Then, anxiety and disturbing thoughts engulfed him. What if Bookman somehow found them in the cave? Somehow grasped the knowledge of their coordinates? Somehow caught them red-handed in their throes of love?

_**No way. We've got to move on.**_

He pulled on his shirt and, in his haste, got his headband stuck at the neckline. Kanda gave a _**tch **_and moved over to get him out of his little problem. His strong hands freed Lavi's headband from the neckline as gently as he could. So far, their night was pure bliss at least to him. As their bodies intertwined, as they gasped and panted, Lavi had a feeling that Kanda was enjoying it as much as he did, albeit being reluctant at first. Now, Kanda seemed to have reverted to his usual, icy self.

_**So totally different. Thought I'd broken the ice between us? Ahhh…he can't erase last night though… **_

"Oi, get down!"

Kanda's sharp warning sent alarm bells ringing in Lavi's head, breaking him out of his absentminded musing. _**What could it be?**_

_**Can't be akuma…Kanda would've whipped out Mugen faster and sliced it in half faster than you could say "usagi".**_

The only thing was, Kanda looked tense, and he seemed as if he was straining his ears to hear the slightest sound a human being could hear. Nothing could've made him look like that. Kanda never feared anything. But then…

_**Was I too rough on him last night? It's his first, right?**_

Then, a hand thrust itself onto his mouth, preventing further intrusions of sound from it. If he didn't recognize Kanda's hands _**(due to the fact that he had them all over me last night)**_ he would've kicked him where he knew it hurt best.

Kanda half-pulled, half-dragged the writhing Lavi to a dark corner. There they stood, motionless. Liquefied water dripped from the tips of limestone.

Drip Drip Drip 

They exchanged every breath of air; Kanda full of apprehension and Lavi still kept in the dark. Out of the blue, Lavi felt heat coursing through his body. He was pressed so close to Kanda; as close as they had been the night before.

_**Dammit, what's going on???**_

Finally, Kanda released the breathless Bookman-in-training and heaved a sigh of relief.

**WHAM!!!**

"Acchhh!!! What th---"

"What - the - hell - just - happened"

Lavi had Kanda pressed on the wall now. He had been before, only now…Lavi was facing him. He didn't care. Kanda had frightened him so badly it hurt and his relieved sigh didn't really come in handy in eradicating that. With every syllable he expressed, he moved closer and closer. He was so frustrated. He wanted to know what-and why? His hands gripped Kanda's arms a little harder. 

Kanda almost melted under Lavi's fiery gaze. He'd seen that before, last night. Only now, the intended meaning was different. Only now, it was pure wrath. _**So contrasting to the passion behind them before.**_

"It's Bookman"


	7. Chapter 7

**Broken Ice (Chapter 7)**

The wizened old man lingered on in front of the entrance. Years of dealing with problems (_mostly from Lavi_), recording unrecorded history and destroying akuma had taken its toil on his face (_and eyes, and body, and arms, and legs-all aching from a few miles of walking_). Archaic lines had been etched across his papery-thin skin and the creases were further emphasized as his eyebrows narrowed down even further. As he contemplated the string of events that had led to his arrival, his eyes raked the interior of the cave; the parts of which weren't enwrapped in the tendrils of darkness.

"Ah…yes. Them snowstorms. Been raging on and on for a pretty long time…then they just stopped. Them youngies o' yours don't stand no chance. Them howling snow and wind sent them to their graves, I'm betting my life on that,"

"Hmm, those devilish snow storms been around for weeks. Then, it all just died down. Boils my brain just to take it all in. I can't understand what's going on,"

The townspeople had all said the same thing. That the snowstorms caused the end of anyone caught in it. That they'd halted abruptly two nights ago.

What they didn't know was that the sudden discontinuation of the blizzards indicated Kanda and Lavi's succession in terminating the akuma. What they didn't know was that most of the people died due to the akuma's poison. That their bodies had decomposed. Decayed. Disintegrated.

The three of them had been there a few days ago, out in the plains. Charged with the task of locating an elusive innocence fragment, they'd toiled for hours and hours only to discover that it was within the grasp of a Level 2. All its blasts of snow, its freeze rays. They'd endured it all, till the little, neon object with mysterious powers was eventually acquired by him. _Him._ The _old, frail man. _The one who lacked enough energy which the two 18-year-old exorcists under his care had-in abundance. However, the akuma still had one last trick up its sleeve. It pulled off its final and undoubtedly most devastating attack on them.

**Avalanche**

Bookman had been separated from the other two under the torrent of fast-driving snow. He'd escaped the grimy confines of death with his Heaven Compass by using his 'Needles of Divine Protection: East Crime' technique. Then, he'd arrived at a town nearly 5 miles away. There, he'd been attacked by akuma, been in an attempt to be robbed (_due to his small stature, the muggers had underestimated him_) and asked around for directions and information on the two exorcists.

From the coordinates he'd gleaned, he was finally here. Somehow, there was a certain feeling gnawing at his senses. _**Instinct?**_ Something told him that beyond the opening, beyond the corners lacking luminosity, there was something he wanted to know. That he would…

_**No. Don't go into that.**_ He lacked the necessary energy required to fight off akuma, let alone kill them if he came face to face with one. He turned around and left the cave. Left it just like that, his ponytail swinging left and right. _**Perhaps they've gone to the next town.**_

"Okay, he's gone. Alright listen up I've got an idea. Let him go off to a great distance. Then, we leave and catch him up from behind. Make it like we'd been behind him all along,"

"Right. You seem pretty secretive considering last night's…ferocity of yours,"

Lavi's face turned red at Kanda's words, at his sinister smile, and last night's events rolled into his head at killer speed, just like the snowball.

"W-ell y-you can't go around t-telling that old man a-about stuff like that, c-can you, Yuu-Chan?" he stuttered, looking away as he tried to cover up his steaming face.

Kanda caressed his cheek with his index finger for a fleeting moment, then gave a 'Che' when he realized that Lavi had called him by his first name. Afterwards, he peeped out after the old man's retreating figure.

Around 10 minutes of his departure from the cave, he heard footsteps behind him. He spun around and saw…Kanda and Lavi. The former with his sour expression frozen upon his face, straight blue hair buffeted by the wind and the latter with his cheeky grin firmly pasted on _his_ face and arms behind his head.

"Don't bother with your rebukes, jiji. We did try looking for you. You're just as elusive as that innocence you're carrying. It's…still with you, right?" Lavi sniggered and, to Bookman's tremendous shock, Kanda seemed to have the ghost of a smile playing on his lips

_**Kanda's smiling at Lavi's lame joke. Suspicious…**_

When they were in close proximity, Bookman glanced upward, fearing the worst. There were two pink marks on Lavi's neck and three of them on Kanda's neck and scapula.

_**Oh my god. Heaven take me away. What have they been doing?**_

"Kanda, go forward and check for any akuma. I'm too spent to fight anymore,"

Bewildered, he obeyed. Weren't they present to take out the akuma? _**Guess he's still mad.**_

When the sound of Kanda's footsteps had been reduced to mere soft footfalls, Bookman turned to his successor. _**Successor who has been playing dirtily behind my back. **_

"What have you been doing in my absence eh?"

Lavi started to protest, to reverse his old mentor's mindset, but Bookman was adamant.

"You were in there, weren't you. Doing some rather immoral…things."

He couldn't find it in his heart to spew out the proper word.

"I taught you to be nothing more than an onlooker regardless of the situation. We're not their allies---"

"We are only on their side by chance, only involved to record history and have no need for hearts, yea I know. I haven't forgotten that, remember. I've recorded all the attacks the akuma sent upon us, all the attacks _we_ sent upon _it_ pertaining to its death, in your absence," Lavi cut him off.

"This is different, you idiot! You can't be involved at all! Now you've been involved in something…_else!" _Bookman hissed in return.

Lavi was gazing intently on Kanda's back. _**Such luscious hair…How could this old man deprive me of him? How could he try to set us apart? I need him…**_

Then the ground split open.


	8. Chapter 8

**Broken Ice (Chapter 8)**

A series of vibrations, induced in the earth's crust, shook the very surface they had their feet firmly placed on. Now, all three of them were plunging

down,

down,

down,

into the abyss below. Massive, jagged cracks appeared on the ground and Bookman, being so small, was pulled downwards by the force of the seismic eruption.

Kanda had his Mugen out and had it firmly wedged into the side of the ground that had emerged along the fault line. Lavi didn't need to worry so much. Kanda was capable enough. It was his grandfather he was worried about. He was rapidly being hauled down by gravity into the vast chasm below.

"Jiji!!!"

No answer.

He waited.

Silence.

He jumped.

As the air rushed up beneath him, Lavi extracted his anti-akuma weapon from a strap on his right leg. He brought it over his head, then brought his knees closer together in a fluid motion upwards.

"Oudzuchi Koudzuchi!! Shin!"

The handle of his hammer extended to its full length as he glued his bottom onto the front end of it. The mallet's head had grown to an immense size, though Lavi, as the accommodator, felt no difference in its weight. His eyes scanned the deepest, darkest, most obscure reaches of the bottomless gulf. It had occurred to him that Bookman may have had his coat stuck onto one of the jutting out pieces of rock, but try as he might, he didn't spot any sign of him at all.

_**A broken body. Mangled. Lying in a pool of blood. Motionless. Absence of sound. Deprived of life. Will I be able to record that?**_

Onwards, never ceasing, he flew. The silence was excruciating.

Vigilant eyes.

Hammer slicing through the air at breakneck speed.

_**Any sign now…**_

_**A crushed head? Spilt brains? Disintegrated??? **_

_**No**_

_**Stop it! That won't happen! **_

As the seconds ticked on, ever more gruesome thoughts flit through his mind, one after another. They were stemming from the overwhelming panic in his head and no matter how hard he tried to suppress them, they kept returning. Haunting him to the point of near insanity.

_**Where are you? Dammit, answer me!!!**_

It'd been nearly half a minute now. Surely the gorge wasn't _**that**_ deep?

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught it. A mass of black. He caught the silver glint of the Black Order's emblem on his chest.

He was still falling, though his eyes were shut so tightly, he thought no light could penetrate them at all.

Relief exploded inside him, coursing through his nerves and cells. Every single part of his anatomy. So much so that he nearly failed to grab hold of Bookman's coat, thus rescuing him.

_**Idiot. He lost conscious and couldn't answer my calls. Thank god he's still intact. Heaven knows all those thoughts I had regarding his death.**_

He reached out as far as he could, without parting company with the mallet's handle. _**So close…**_

"I…won't…leave you, old man. Wake up. Tell me you're alive. Damn, damn, damn" Lavi rasped, as he seized his mentor's arm. He wasn't so heavy, but Lavi had used up almost all his energy searching for him _(the mental pain really tired me out)_

Bookman's eyes fluttered open, as he regained consciousness (_due to Lavi's painful grab, mostly_)

"So, I've saved you, eh? Care to grant me permission to have the freedom of what I want?"

Bookman only stared at him, eyes glazed. His brain was still fuzzy and could not comprehend the meaning behind Lavi's words.

"You know…the one where I get to _**be with Kanda through everything," **_Lavi placed emphasis on the last five words, implying his meaning, before ending off with a grin.

Bookman was at a loss of words.

_**Why is this idiot saying this at this point of time?**_

"Bring me up first before I give my verdict, idiot,"

"Yessir!"

Lavi painstakingly altered his course, so as not to damage the foundations of the earth any more. Any wrong move and the whole mound of soil would topple over, burying them within. He flew vertically upwards, Bookman gripping his waist as firmly as he could.

"Hold on tight! It's gonna get rough!"

"What do you think I'm doing?"

Customary grin. With that, he zoomed forwards out of the gorge and into the open, as sunlight bathed them in its radiance. Somehow, the fault line had been progressing gradually during their time spent in the Earth's crust. The opening had apparently shrunken and Lavi couldn't extricate his enlarged hammer from the gorge that easily. He swung Bookman onto the surface and, with one hand gripping the edge of the ground; he proceeded to shrinking his anti-akuma weapon.

Then, trouble struck. The chunk of rock Lavi had been clutching onto for dear life broke free of the ground it was attached to, and he succumbed to the power of gravity. Before he could even give a shout for help, Kanda found its way into his mind's eye. He blacked out.

Bookman had been observing from a distance. He'd seen Lavi slip. He'd seen Kanda running. _**Kanda**_. He was _**running**_. He was _**running to save someone's life.**_ _**Kanda never did value anyone's live. **_Then, he felt the extent of their love overwhelm him. _They did love each other_. It wasn't some puppy-love thing. It was the real thing. He looked on, as Kanda brought Lavi's body out and cradled his head in his lap, oblivious to the stares of the old man 5 metres behind him.

"Baka usagi. I told you, you black out at the wrong times. Che. Get up, dammit,"

"What's the matter, missing me already?" Lavi broke into a smile; eyes still closed. He trailed a finger on Kanda's cheek, all the way down to his neck. He twirled the fine blue strands of hair between his fingers, relishing the thought of having Kanda finally by his side. Kanda's voice had stirred the depths of his soul and brought him back into the real world.

"Che, who said that. We still have a long journey to get back to headquarters. I'm not gonna lug you around all day,"

"Haha, yea right… then what are your blushes implying, then?"

Kanda was silenced. _**Dammit, why must they crop up so fast?**_

Then, both turned simultaneously at Bookman, who was gazing at them, devoid of any expression. He cleared his throat, then stated,

"Right, I'm granting you permission then. If I don't, perhaps your exorcist skills shall sink to the depths. _And your Bookman skills, Lavi._ As long as you don't do any…things…in front of me,"

As they exchanged looks of glee, Bookman could only play along with his own thoughts.

_**Perhaps with Lavi's involvement with Kanda, we might finally know the secret to his highly regenerative skills, that mysterious tattoo on his chest and that pink glow emanating from his room. The glow of a lotus. **_

The glow of a lotus. Bowed melancholically, suspended in vacuum within a plain, glass jar. Little did they know of Bookman's plans in making the most of their relationship. All they had on their minds were the possibilities hanging over their heads. The both of them together, forever.


	9. Afterword

Woohoo, so with that, I conclude my story Broken Ice.

A story depicting Kanda and Lavi realizing their feelings for each other and the trials and tribulations they had to overcome to finally be together XD.

I'm taking a break with yaoi fanfiction, yes cry with me TT

(1 minute of crying passes)

Good news is, I'm making a D. Gray-Man parody XD.

Stay tuned for --D. Gray-Man dudes: In the future-- 0o

What happens when Allen, Lavi, Kanda, Krory and Komui are transported into the future?


End file.
